


Your mission should you choose to accept it

by stellacanta



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-05 00:15:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13376061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellacanta/pseuds/stellacanta
Summary: “Do it sir.”“I-”“You know I would if I were in your position. It’s all part of the job.”





	Your mission should you choose to accept it

“Hey Percy, late night last night? Thought I was the only one who pulled late nighters around here.”

Perceval Graves ignored the cheerful greeting of one Credence Barebone as he threw his coat over the back of his chair and slumped onto it. He buried his hands into graying hair and sighed out in either frustration or sheer fatigue.

Credence raised an eyebrow at his boss’s uncharacteristic behavior. Sure, Graves wasn’t the easiest guy to get along with, and this was coming from the guy who had been dating him for the past few months, but neither was he prone to quiet melodrama as the man was before him. “So, coffee then?”

“Now, please!” Graves seemed as startled as Credence felt at the forceful outburst. The older man gave him an apologetic smile as he removed his hands from his hair and clasped them together. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. I-”

Credence held up a hand. “-I can perfectly understand the feeling that comes with not getting enough sleep sir. No need to apologize. Make it up to me later?”

Graves gave him a relieved look. “Sure. How would you feel about lunch at your favorite Chinese place. Maybe a nice home-cooked dinner after work?”

The younger man whistled. “Home cooked huh? I’ll take you up on dinner then. We’re always getting take out for lunch anyway, so-” He trailed off and fixed Graves with an expectant look. “Any special reason for dinner?”

Graves was thoughtful as he replied. “Well, we’re coming up on our half-year anniversary and Christmas is just around the corner. I figure those are a good a reason as any.”

“Six months already? Man, time passes by quick. Anyway, I’ll take you up on dinner. Oh and cream or sugar before I grab that coffee for you?”

“Cream and three packets of sugar if you will.”

Credence flashed him a quick smile before he ducked out of the room. “I’ll get right on that sir.”

Graves chuckled despite himself and called after the younger man. “You don’t have to keep calling me sir!”

“Aww, but you love it when I do!”

* * *

Perceval waited for the sound of the elevator doors opening and closing down the hallway before he pulled out the manila envelope from his briefcase. He hesitated for a moment before he pulled out the papers inside it, knowing what he would see. His eyes lingered over the the youthful face staring blankly into the camera and the curly locks of dark hair that framed it. He mouthed the name, the age, date of birth and current address of his target, unable to voice the information on the page, but needing to commit it to memory.

The target’s current occupation: technological researcher at the agency. 

The reason for elimination: evidence of classified information being exfiltrated to enemy agencies and organizations. Some of which had already compromised agents and missions in progress.

He had been in a state of disbelief when he had gotten this mission. Perceval could think of no reason why any member of the agency, lest of all this particular one, would betray it in such a way. Last night he had watched the video on the enclosed thumb drive of the target exfiltrating the data hoping to convince himself it wasn’t who he thought it was.

He hadn’t been successful. Everything, from the target’s mannerisms to the stare that they gave to the camera at the end betrayed who they were. 

Apparently this had been going on for years before they had caught on. The target was good, they all agreed. No one knew if it was a fluke that they had caught the event on camera or if the target had slipped up on purpose.

As the night wore on, the denial had slipped into anger. Anger at the person for betraying the organization, betraying him in such a way. Anger at himself for not catching on sooner. Anger at the agency for not sending someone else to do their dirty work. (He could forgive them somewhat, he was one of their best agents for this job after all.)

It was only in the morning that the anger had faded into bitter acceptance. He flipped through the rest of the pages to see if there was any pertinent information he had missed the night before, there wasn’t.

The files and manila envelope was gone form sight by time Credence arrived in the office with the promised cup of coffee.

“I passed by Tina on the way up,” the younger man said as he handed the cup to Perceval. “Apparently her mission ended up going awry and she had to be called back to HQ before the terrorist cell could figure out who the mole was. Hope she gave a good reason for her sudden departure before she left.”

Perceval took a small sip from the cup, light scalding his tongue in the process as he held it in his hands. It was slightly bitter to taste and he wondered if she should have asked for another packet of sugar to be put in it. “I trust Tina to have handled everything before she left. There’s a reason why she as top of her class and one of our best agents to date after all.”

“I see.” A pause. “So if you were pulling a late nighter last night, can I take it that a new mission came in? Anything I could help with?”

He gave the younger man a rueful smile. “Ah no, I’m sorry. I did get a new mission, but it’s a boring one. All information gathering and stakeouts. Ended up staying later than I expected doing planning-”

He ignored the crestfallen expression on the younger man’s face. “Oh. I was hoping this was something we could work together on. It’s been a while since we had a mission where we worked together.” Another pause. “There’s nothing I can help you with?”

He sighed and shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

Credence sighed. “Alright. It’s not like I don’t anything anything that needs to be done anyway. There’s a prototype that I need to finish and that favor I need to get done for old Mr. Henderson.” The younger man rolled his eyes, before he looked to him with a smile. “Well, I’ll see you at lunch then.”

He smiled back in response. “I’ll be looking forward to it. oh, and thanks for the coffee.” He held up the cup in emphasis.

He got laughter in response. “Don’t mention it. Good-bye for now, then”

He watched as the younger man gave him a cheeky wink before he left the office. “Good-bye Credence,” he murmured softly beneath his breath.

* * *

For lunch he ordered their usual fare with a side of peanut chicken. He usually avoided dishes with peanut. Credence was allergic to them after all. He didn’t mind giving them up if it avoided the hassle it caused to the younger man. (Usually he wouldn’t anyway.)

Credence texted him just before noon that he was done with his work and would be picking up the food. He couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed by the news. (He had hoped to be the one to pick up lunch.)

The younger man arrived promptly at noon in a flurry of smiles and take out bags. “I feel like lunch is a bit heavier this time around. Did you order something special?” Credence sets the bags down on the table and glanced at the papers scattered around him. “Busy day I see.” He pulled the receipt out of the bag and took out each container one by one.

Perceval prepared himself mentally for the younger man’s reaction when he got to a certain item on the receipt. The moment came too soon for his liking. “Um-” Credence could only stare at the printed words on the receipt, unsure of how to act.

Perceval sighed. “Ah, that’s for me. I know you can’t have peanuts due to your allergy. I wanted some comfort food due to all the work I’ve been swamped with.” He gestured toward the haphazard piles of paper that surrounded him. “That won’t be a problem would it? I know your allergy is pretty serious.”

Credence gave a nervous chuckle and shook his head. “Well, I’m not dead yet and I don’t think I’ll die just from having it around me. It’s a good thing we caught that in time. Would be pretty bad otherwise. Just, next time could you warn me? It hasn’t happened as often because you’ve been pretty good about not having peanuts around me, but I’d like advance warning in the future.”

He reached out and grasped the younger man’s hand and caressed the back of his with his thumb. Perceval gave his most comforting smile and he could sense the tension ease out of the younger man. “Anything for you, my dear boy. I would never want for harm to come to you. Would you tell me of your day so far? How did that favor for Mr. Henderson go?”

Credence grinned as he took a seat across from him and grabbed a container of chow mein. “It went pretty well actually. I thought it would turn out more painful than it did-” Perceval listened attentively to the account and ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.

* * *

The packet of white power seemed to burn a hole in his pocket as he cooked the fish and pasta for dinner. It wouldn’t take all that much to kill a man, he knew, he could just sprinkle a little bit over a dish and that would do the job.

He couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not while he was cooking, not while he was transferring the food to the plates. There was always a reason to not do it. Would the heat damage the effectiveness of the poison? Would it be too obvious if he sprinkled the powder over the food? What if the other person tried to feed him something off his plate? He had the anti-venom, but could he get to it in time without tipping his dining partner off?

In the end, Credence arrived to his apartment with a bottle of wine and compliments for the smalls drifting from the dining room.

“Go sit down. I’ll get some glasses for the wine.”

This was his chance, he thought to himself as he grabbed the glasses. This was the perfect opportunity. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the packet. He held it over one of the glasses and hesitated.

Credence noticed that it seemed to be taking him too long to fetch a pair of wine glasses and asked after him. “Something wrong sir?”

He put the packet back in his pocket and grabbed the glasses before he could change his mind. “Nope, just thought the glasses looked a bit dirty, but on second glance they’re fine. Also, what did I tell you about calling me sir?”

Credence flashed him a shit-eating grin when he came into view. “To only do it when we’re alone? Which we are-”

Perceval cleared his throat as he set the glasses down. “Well I can’t argue with that. Didn’t get to see as much of you as I would have liked in the afternoon. So how did the rest of your day go?”

The pair settled into an evening of good food and good conversation. The packet in his pocket forgotten from his mind.

(If their lovemaking was longer and more tender than usual, Credence paid it no mind. At least not out loud.)

* * *

In the end, he went with his trusty gun. In the end, Credence was staring him down as the gun was pointed to his head. 

He would never knew what it was that gave it away. Was it the peanuts at lunch? Was it the way he held on too long at the end to try to memorize everything about the beautiful man that he held in his arms? He blinked and tried to force an explanation through his throat. “I have-”

“-a mission, I know.” Credence sighed and closed his eyes. He opened them on the next exhale. “Do it sir.”

“I-”

“-you know I would if I were in your position. It’s all part of the job. Should have poisoned your coffee-”

The shot rang through the room with a loud bang. He could only stare blankly at the neat bullet head through his lover’s head as the man fell backwards. Blood oozed out of the wound and onto the sheets beneath him. 

The gun trembled slightly in his hand. Ever so slightly, until he let his hand fall to his side. The mission was done. The target was dead. (Yet why did it feel like he was the one to have gotten shot?)

* * *

_Credence was smiling when he died._

_He had suspected that they would have gone after him soon after he had taken the last bits of information off the servers and into the hands of the benefactors. He had wondered who would be the one to kill him. He was glad that it was Perceval and not some other nameless and faceless agent._

_(Perceval would be kind in killing him, he knew. As the bullet entered his head and consciousness began to fall, he could only hope that the other man would forgive himself for his actions. It was all part of the job.)_

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This is an old fic I'm uploading to ao3. I still haven't finished reading the script/watched the movie yet, so let me know if anyone's characterization is ... off.


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